Since the Malik Beasley drama has stalled his contract talks with the Detroit Pistons, their replacement option is painfully obvious: Dennis Schroder. Obviously, Schroder won’t bring what Beasley does to the table, but retaining one of the guards who was crucial to their success last season should be a priority for Detroit.
Though Schroder isn’t an elite three-point specialist like Beasley, his ball-handling and defense were crucial to the Pistons’ success, especially in the postseason. Detroit added him at the deadline, and it paid off for them once the playoffs came around, even though they didn’t manage to get past the New York Knicks.
The question is, will the Pistons be able to make it happen?
Where could Dennis Schroder go?
Schroder played well for the Pistons last year, but based on recent rumors, he may be looking to continue his journeyman career with a new stop. According to The Stein Line, the Sacramento Kings are projected to poach Schroder away from the Pistons.
“The Pistons, meanwhile, are strongly expected to focus on signing Caris LeVert away from the Hawks while Sacramento — as we've been reporting for days — is widely expected to come to terms with Detroit's Dennis Schröder on a deal that some are projecting to run for two years and inch toward the $30 million range to become the Kings' starting point guard,” wrote the Stein Line.
The Kings are in an awkward position this summer, as they don’t necessarily have the talent to fully compete in a stacked Western Conference, but they don’t seem to be interested in a rebuild.
Meanwhile, the Pistons could very much use a bench ball handler to take some of the pressure off of Cade Cunningham. That said, Jaden Ivey should be back next year, which should aid the situation.
What happened with Malik Beasley?
Bringing back Beasley should have been a no-brainer for the Pistons, but he’s gotten himself into some serious legal trouble, as he’s been accused of betting on games.
“Federal authorities are investigating Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley on allegations of gambling related to NBA games and prop bets, sources told ESPN on Sunday,” wrote Shams Charania of ESPN. “The allegations are from the 2023-24 season, when Beasley played for the Milwaukee Bucks, sources said. Beasley averaged 11.3 points in 79 games that season, during which he made a career-high 77 starts.
“At least one prominent U.S. sportsbook detected unusually heavy betting interest on Beasley's statistics beginning around January 2024, a gambling industry source told ESPN's David Purdum.”